Tag: author

Given that previous findings on the social distribution of the effects of small classes have been mixed and inconclusive, in the present study I attempted to shed light on the mechanism through which small classes affect the achievement of low- and high-achieving students. I used data from a 4-year, large-scale, randomized experiment (project STAR) to examine the effects of small classes on the achievement gap. The sample consisted of nearly 11,000 elementary school students who participated...

This practice guide, from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, formulates evidence-based recommendations for teaching literacy to English Language Leaners (ELLs) in the elementary grades based on the current body of studies for each area. The authors evaluated the effect sizes of interventions to measure their impact on programs and practices. The recommendations involve areas such as curriculum selection, sensible...

This study examined the effects of single-sex and coeducational schooling on the gender gap in educational achievement to age 25. Data were drawn from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 individuals born in 1977 in Christchurch, New Zealand. After adjustment for a series of covariates related to school choice, there were significant differences between single-sex and coeducational schools in the size and direction of the gender gap...

In this article I contend that elementary school teachers need to work more closely with school counselors to enhance student learning and academic performance and to narrow the achievement gap among student groups. Research showing the influence that counselors can exert on the educational process is summarized. Using the American School Counselor Association's organization framework for structuring counseling and guidance programs, I also illustrate where the educative roles of teachers...

In response to states’ interest in whether or how other states are using developmental delay or other eligibility category specific to 3- through 9-year-olds, the author reviewed the current eligibility classifications and criteria as retrieved from states’ Web sites, the National State Policy Database (2007) and/or provided by the coordinators of the state Part B-Section 619 programs, including the District of Columbia. Periodically data presented in this report are sent to the...

Considerable evidence documents the existence of a gap between the literacy achievement of students of diverse backgrounds and their mainstream peers. Given the increasing diversity of the population of students in classrooms in the US and around the world, the authors believe that the task of addressing the literacy achievement gap will become even more urgent in the new millennium.The challenges posed by the gap are considered in terms of 3 key groups of participants in the process of...

The article discusses ways on attaining the goal of abolishing the achievement gap still present among U.S. schools in the 21st century. According to the author, despite of the technological advancements and institutional practices that are research-based, academic achievement and equal learning opportunities for U.S. students are not yet achieved. An overview of the ways to help students associate their knowledge with th instructional content is offered. It also suggests that participation...

The article discusses how the achievement gap can be abolished through tracing the roots of public school education, a curriculum applicable to all students and through reform efforts of educators. Senior fellow of the J. McDonald Williams Institute defined achievement gap as examining differences in racial and socioeconomic factors affecting student achievement in U.S. schools. An overview of the suggestions for reform efforts of educators is offered. The author suggests that educators must...

The authors examined disparities in special education labeling among children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by merging calendar year 2002 special education records and Medicaid mental health claims for 4,852 children who had been diagnosed with ADHD in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thirty-eight percent were receiving special education services. In adjusted analyses, Black children were less likely than White children to receive these services (odds ratio...

Part of a special issue on the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Most HRSA evaluation activities are funded through the 1 percent evaluation set-aside authority, and these are most closely examined within the agency. The framework for planning and creating priorities for evaluation studies is provided by agency, bureau, and program strategic plans, in addition to Department of Health and Human Services priorities. Studies that determine the extent to which HRSA is...

Ability grouping is sometimes thought to exacerbate inequality by increasing achievement gaps; however, ability grouping may in fact benefit a fast growing and often marginalized student population: children from non-English-speaking home environments. The level-appropriate, small-group instruction received in reading ability groups may be particularly beneficial to these language-minority children, who are not regularly exposed to English at home. Focusing on Hispanics, who make up the...

The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) marks the largest intervention of the federal government into education in the history of the United States. NCLB received and continues to receive support, in part because it promises to improve student learning and to close the achievement gap between White students and students of color. However, NCLB has failed to live up to its promises and may exacerbate inequality. Furthermore, by focusing on education as the solution to social and...

The so-called achievement gap in mathematics is reframed as a problem of unequal opportunities to learn experienced by many low-income students and many Latino and African American students. First, data are presented showing striking and persistent differences on standardized tests among students of different ethnic groups, and socioeconomic levels. Then evidence is presented demonstrating that opportunities to learn mathematics are not equally distributed among all students. Specifically...

While the educational difficulties of poor black students are well documented and have been discussed extensively, the academic performance of well-off African American children has received much less attention. Even with economic and educational resources in the home, well-off African American youth are not achieving at the levels of their white peers. Why is this? A review of relevant literature identifies a set of social processes that pose formidable barriers to the academic and personal...

Noting that differences and inequality of education exist in the United States of America, this paper presents two model educational programs that address the iniquities in American public education. The first model is a collaborative effort of a public school in an urban northeast community, the Robert L. Ford Elementary School of Lynn, Massachusetts, USA and a public supported college of higher education, Salem State College, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, whose joint venture is known as The...